Okay, what's with this weather? (difference, recommend, run)

[pete6032]

I'm flying in on Saturday will there be snow downtown?

[ellysbelly]

Originally Posted by golfgal

It's up to you but, not worth the bad gas mileage for maybe one day every 10 years you might need it---and--issue probably is more tire related than drive related

Thankfully, the difference in MPG between the 2WD and AWD, at least for the vehicle we're considering, is only a loss of 1 MPG (19 city/24 highway for AWD vs 20 city/25 highway for FWD), so it's worth it (to me) for the peace of mind after not driving in ice/snow for over 10 years.. the minimal difference in MPG is likely because it's not all time AWD, it only kicks in if your front tires start slipping.

[AndreaSoup]

Originally Posted by pete6032

I'm flying in on Saturday will there be snow downtown?

Doubt it - I am downtown today..no snow to be seen. We live in the East Metro and barely had a dusting last night. North of here, though, oy.

I hate winter. Ready to abscond to a warmer climate!

[aluminumpork]

Originally Posted by ellysbelly

minimal difference in MPG is likely because it's not all time AWD, it only kicks in if your front tires start slipping.

Yes, I'm the technical nitpicking AWD evangelist ;-) If the vehicle has quote-unquote "fulltime 4WD" or "non-fulltime AWD" (like you described), then it is not true AWD. My girlfriend's RAV4 has fulltime 4WD, which is in fact exactly what you said. I've had many scary incidents in her car trying to cross a highway between traffic from one snowy avenue to another, only to have the car spin it's front tires, putting me in the first lane of the highway, THEN kicking in the rears when it realized what happened, shooting me across the road. Additionally, her RAV does not handle like an AWD car, it handles like the FWD it is, which means nonsensical recovery when losing control on wet or snowy roads.

[ellysbelly]

^^yup, we're looking at a Toyota Highlander so I'm certain that it has the identical setup/transmission as your girlfriend's RAV4 (as they're both Toyotas)-- I'd prefer to have a Subaru or a *huge* SUV, but as I need a vehicle that can hold 3 kids, 2 dogs and 2 hockey (for 2 goalies, so even larger than normal) bags AND don't want to get 12MPG, there aren't many choices that fit that bill while still providing either all time AWD or 'true' 4X4, sigh.

[aluminumpork]

Originally Posted by ellysbelly

there aren't many choices that fit that bill while still providing either all time AWD or 'true' 4X4, sigh.

It's true. Have you looked at the Subaru Tribeca? It's true AWD, biggish, and gets 16/22. That might be a bit poor for you, or the Tribeca might be out of your price range; just a thought.

[ellysbelly]

Funnily enough, I just started looking at that exact vehicle in the last 30 minutes and have a call into my local dealer (for some reason I thought it was a 5 passenger, but it holds 7)-- it's in our price range but the MPG is a bit lower than I'd like and holds 7 instead of 8 passengers (the Highlander holds 8), but, all that said, I'm going to check it out this weekend.. thanks for the suggestion!

[nbtmn]

I think that tires are a big part of the equation. A number of years back, my husband and I had a Mazda 3 and a Toyota RAV4 w/4WD. At the time, we did most of our driving in the Mazda 3, and when its original set of tires wore out, decided to go out and buy a set of snow tires for that car to use in the winter. They made a HUGE difference traction wise - I think the small FWD car with snow tires handled better than our RAV4 with 4WD/stability/traction control and the standard stock tires.

After we had our son, we sold the Mazda 3 and the RAV4 became our regular driver (and still is). At that time, we decided to drop the money on a set of winter tires for the RAV, and its performance in the snow improved quite a bit. Neither of us had a car with snow tires until about 5 years ago, and I don't think I know anyone else who lives here who has them. But I'm now a big believer in having a set for our primary car.

I agree that cars with real AWD (Subaru) are awesome in the snow. We once test drove an Impreza in the wintertime, and my husband took it to an empty, snow covered parking lot and did donuts. I don't think it slipped at all.

[wamer27]

Originally Posted by IIll11

Bel Air sure has changed.

Lol the neighborhood must have bought winter for a day.

[aluminumpork]

Originally Posted by nbtmn

But I'm now a big believer in having a set for our primary car.

Agreed! I run Blizzaks on the Audi and will never look back, but if you have a FWD car, I highly recommend putting dedicated snows on all four. It will make a world of a difference.